Eagles Land 2 on All-GVC Men’s Basketball Lists, say Goodbye to 3 Sophomores

Eagles' head coach Kyle Heath is stressing the positive after a tough 2026 season in the win-loss column. High on that list are the two players who were voted onto the All-Golden Valley Conference teams and the three sophomores who have finished their community college careers.

Sophomore Jeremy Gaut, a 6-foot-7 forward from South Medford, made 1st Team All-Conference.

Freshman CJ Crane, a 6-3 guard from Meridian, ID, made All-Defense.

The Eagles finished the season with a lopsided Sophomore Night loss to conference champion Feather River in mid-February. Siskiyous said goodbye to three sophomores who wore jersey numbers 1 (Gaut), 2 (Kyler Ellyson) and 3 (Gavin McLean).

Heath said it was one of the best sophomore groups he's had in terms of leadership and dedication to the team. "They're program-first guys. It's a compliment to them that the guys liked each other and liked being around each other. They had no discouraging words for their teammates or coaches."

Overall, Heath liked the way the sophomores and freshmen approached things this year, praising them throughout the season for their upbeat attitudes and effort.

It's a borrowed phrase, but Heath likes to say players come in as teammates and leave as family. "The experiences are what they'll remember more than the games they played, like going to a Warriors game, team dinners, jokes while on the road, the things they did together. They made a commitment and went through the whole year. It's life through basketball. Some day that could help them in the future."

The Eagles were fortunate to get two all-conference guys with their 2-8 record, Heath said, noting that the GVC changed its selection procedure this year. Instead of guaranteeing all-conference picks based on each team's record, all spots were determined by coaches' votes. That resulted in 7 of the 10 players on the 1st Team coming from the top two teams in the standings: Feather River (10-0, 22-8), Redwoods (8-2, 19-10), Butte (5-5, 13-16), Shasta (3-7, 4-24), Siskiyous (2-8, 7-21), Lassen (2-8, 4-23).

Gaut took his game to a higher level once the GVC season started. He averaged 13 points per game overall but ranked 2nd in conference games with a 16.9 point scoring average. He ranked 1st in free throws made and attempts (55-63) in GVC games, 5th in free throw percentage (87.3), 5th in offensive rebounds (3.2), and 7th in total rebounds per game (7.1).

"Shooting the most free throws means he was aggressive," Heath said. "Most of the guys shot more 3-pointers than free throws."

Gaut was a team captain and "team guy," according to Heath. "He's respectful; he's a leader." After a redshirt season elsewhere, Gaut came to Siskiyous, began last season as a starter, but fell out of, then got back into the rotation. He finished his freshman year averaging 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds.

Heath said Gaut persevered, staying in Weed through the summer and committing to getting better. It paid off, and now he's moving on with a scholarship and will continue playing basketball at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.

"It was a good career for him," said the coach. "I'm happy for him."

CJ Crane finished his freshman season ranked 6th in conference games in rebounding (7.2) and 8th in offensive rebounds (2.3). Overall, he led the Eagles in total rebounds (187), offensive rebounds (62), assists (68), and steals (28).

"I always had him defend against the other team's best perimeter player," Heath said of Crane. "He's 6-3 and led the team in rebounds, and he's not a guy that plays above the rim. I'm happy he made All-Defense and hope to have him back next year."

Always aggressive with the ball in his hand, Gavin McLean, a 6-2 guard from Grants Pass, averaged just under 9 points per game overall. He was second on the team to Gaut (48.4) with an overall field goal percentage of 47.3 and second on the team to freshman Julius Blair (36.5) with a 30.8 three-point percentage. McLean led the team with an 82.8 overall free throw percentage and was the Eagles' fifth leading scorer with 247 points, behind Gaut (367), freshman Eli Bryant (306), Julius Blair (298), and Crane (265).

"Even when he was out of the game, Gavin was still being a leader and was there to help," Heath said.

Kyler Ellyson was a 5-9 guard from Marysville and a second generation Siskiyous basketball player, following his father Dave. He didn't play much until later in the season, but Kyler saved his best for last. He started on Sophomore Night, made 6 of his 9 shots and finished the game with 17 points. "A great sendoff for him," said Heath, who praised Ellyson throughout the season for being "the heartbeat of the team, always bringing energy. He was a leader in the weightroom, the classroom, and the community. He always put the team first."

Heath hopes the team spirit shown by this year's sophomores gets passed on. "I'm proud of the sophomores; they're part of my family now forever. It's about more than basketball; it's about relationships."

Many freshmen saw playing time this season, and Heath said he's excited that most of them are thinking about returning next year. "We need to get better, but you can't replace experience. A lot of the guys got a lot of minutes. Now they need to have the mindset to do whatever it takes to improve. New guys will be coming in and trying to take their jobs. If they stay hungry, I don't think we're that far off. I think most of them will be around in the spring, so they can start working in April and May. I really like this team, but we made as many turnovers (in the last game) as we did on opening night. We'll be telling them what we think they need to do to get better. If we get the right pieces, we can get back to the playoffs next year. Look at Butte, they went 5-5 in the GVC (13-16 overall) and got a higher seed in the NorCal Regionals than Redwoods (8-2, 19-10)."

Among the freshmen, Blair averaged 11.5 points per game overall, Eli Bryant 11.3, Crane 9.5, Gannon Ysais 4.0, Jojo Jointer 3.6, and Ili McCabe 1.6, and Jai Blair 1.3.

Bryant averaged 5.2 rebound per game and was second to Crane with just under 2 assists per game.

Julius Blair led the Eagles with 38 three-point baskets, which was 10th best in conference, and he tied for the team lead with Crane in steals per game.

In conference, Siskiyous was the only team to shoot more free throws than three-pointers. They tied for first with Butte in free throws made (426) and were second among conference teams with 584 free throw attempts and second to last in three-point attempts (500). Contrast that to Redwoods, which led the conference with 913 three-point attempts.

The Eagles played a dozen teams that made it into the NorCal Regionals postseason bracket, and they beat No. 21 Las Medanos in November at the Mendocino tournament.

Conference champion Feather River, seeded No. 13, was the only GVC team to advance past the NorCals first round, but then they lost in the second round to No. 4 San Jose.

By Steve Gerace